Posted: 12/23/2009 9:19:01 AM EDT
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I have a Ford Ranger that I've been driving a lot lately and I like it, but it could use a little more power. I have been looking at caold air intakes and performance chips and have a few questions.
First, what is the difference between the $60 Ebay no name ones and the $300 K&N or Valoant ones? Isn't it just a biiger tube w/ a filter on it? Isn't the point just more and less restrictive air flow? If so, isn't any tube just as good as a different tube of the same size? Or is there more to them? Maybe heat shielding properties or how the air flows or something? Second question is about chips. I don't see the difference in cheap air intakes, but I assume there is a big difference between cheap no name chips and more expensive name brands, right? Or do they all do they same thing? Don't they just adjust the air/fule mixture and timing curves? So what do the $400 ones do better? I don't want to sound like a cheap ass, but sometimes there is a good reason to buy cheap stuff, like if a cold air intake is just a tube w/ a filter on it. If you just want a watch, a Timex tells the same time as a Rolex. I don't mind spending the extra money, I just don't want to throw it away and I can't see what the difference between $60 and $300 air intakes is. Educate me please. |
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A cold air intake on a Ford Ranger will probably give a couple more horsepower when the engine is WOT. When you're just driving around town, it'll do nothing except increase the likelihood of sucking water into your engine when you drive through puddles. Keep your tires properly inflated, change your oil regularly, quit hauling around a bunch of dead weight and save your money. |
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get new gears for your rear end
as far as naturally aspirated trucks go, all the bolt ons dont really give you a lot compared to what you paid. dollars per hp, a blower is still one of the best bargains. the intakes barely do shit, pullies do very little, the cheapo chips can blow up your motor, and the more expensive ones arent necessarily any better unless you get dyno tuned. just trying to save you from the mistakes i made when i had my bro'ed out f150 (i'm formerly 951, riverside) i recommend diff-works in corona, they did my old truck and 3 of my buddies, also a lot of stuff for overhaulin. good folks doin good work |
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You might notice a small amount with an intake..the expensive ones are nice but they don't do anything more than generic ebay tube with filter. depending on what type of ranger/ what engine If you are looking for something easy that has results I would suggest looking for a header or headers. If you have a '96 or newer one a tuner like a hypertech or superchips usually work pretty well..those real cheap ebay "chips" are just a resistor that is spliced into an air intake temp sensor usually. moar info needed |
| I sell all of that stuff for a living and will tell you to save your money. I have a K&N intake on my 2.5 ranger and it has done nothing but sound cool when I romp on it. Programers are greta on diesels, but small gas trucks don't get a lot out of them, and you'ld be better off just taking the cash and putting it in the glove box as gas money. |
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Quoted:
get new gears for your rear end as far as naturally aspirated trucks go, all the bolt ons dont really give you a lot compared to what you paid. dollars per hp, a blower is still one of the best bargains. the intakes barely do shit, pullies do very little, the cheapo chips can blow up your motor, and the more expensive ones arent necessarily any better unless you get dyno tuned. just trying to save you from the mistakes i made when i had my bro'ed out f150 (i'm formerly 951, riverside) i recommend diff-works in corona, they did my old truck and 3 of my buddies, also a lot of stuff for overhaulin. good folks doin good work I'm from Riverside too. Thanks for the info, looks like I'll forget about it. FWIW, it's a 2001 w/ a 3.0 V6 and I'm just taling about driving around town, occasionally tow a small trailer or something. |
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get new gears for your rear end as far as naturally aspirated trucks go, all the bolt ons dont really give you a lot compared to what you paid. dollars per hp, a blower is still one of the best bargains. the intakes barely do shit, pullies do very little, the cheapo chips can blow up your motor, and the more expensive ones arent necessarily any better unless you get dyno tuned. just trying to save you from the mistakes i made when i had my bro'ed out f150 (i'm formerly 951, riverside) i recommend diff-works in corona, they did my old truck and 3 of my buddies, also a lot of stuff for overhaulin. good folks doin good work fucking flatbiller 
And I concur, not much short of throwing a blower or a motor swap(good luck with that and keeping it legal in cali) at a ranger is going to do too much. Might get some from a gear swap if you have 3.55's or higher, but highway will suffer. ETA: Saw its a 3.0L. Sucks to be you and nothing will help. Eats gas like a 4.0 with less power from almost all accounts |
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You 'can' gain significant improvements from a lot of small modifications, but they will only really help you if you are pushing the envelope (racing, etc...), something you are not likely to do with a ranger.
IMO, oiled fabric air filters are snake oil. Sure they are less restrictive, but again that only helps if you are pushing your engine to the limit. They cannot compete with paper element filters for the ability to do the task a filter is supposed to do: FILTER. I say that they are snake oil, because you hear many people claim large improvements in power and MPG with them. I don't believe any of them for 2 reasons: 1) the "power" story ususally usually goes: I rebuilt my engine, new cam, changed my intake manifold, added headers and a low flow exhaust, added a chip, replaced my plugs/wires, and added a K*N. Lots better performance now, man that K&N sure does make a difference. 
2) every slight increase in MPG is worth millions to auto companies due to CAFE standards. If a simple trick like using oiled fabric elements instead of paper was anywhere near useful in the 'normal' operation of a vehicle, you would only find paper element filters in the classic car catalogs Don't bother doing anything beyond replacing plugs/wires when the time comes, and keeping your alignment and tire pressure correct. Want a fast car, buy a fast car... |
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get new gears for your rear end as far as naturally aspirated trucks go, all the bolt ons dont really give you a lot compared to what you paid. dollars per hp, a blower is still one of the best bargains. the intakes barely do shit, pullies do very little, the cheapo chips can blow up your motor, and the more expensive ones arent necessarily any better unless you get dyno tuned. just trying to save you from the mistakes i made when i had my bro'ed out f150 (i'm formerly 951, riverside) i recommend diff-works in corona, they did my old truck and 3 of my buddies, also a lot of stuff for overhaulin. good folks doin good work fucking flatbiller LMAO!! havent heard that since i moved 
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Cold air intake kits are also snake oil. With fuel injection, there is no need for warm air so the manufacturers already install a "cold air intake". Modifications to it may increase noise, if anything at all. There is no tax on HP here so it is pointless to throttle the engine on the basis of the manufacturer. |
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get new gears for your rear end as far as naturally aspirated trucks go, all the bolt ons dont really give you a lot compared to what you paid. dollars per hp, a blower is still one of the best bargains. the intakes barely do shit, pullies do very little, the cheapo chips can blow up your motor, and the more expensive ones arent necessarily any better unless you get dyno tuned. just trying to save you from the mistakes i made when i had my bro'ed out f150 (i'm formerly 951, riverside) i recommend diff-works in corona, they did my old truck and 3 of my buddies, also a lot of stuff for overhaulin. good folks doin good work fucking flatbiller LMAO!! havent heard that since i moved
I spend a decent bit of time on FSB, pirate, and race dezert. 
Got a bronco with a built 351 and I am paitently awaiting the day I can afford a full camburg coilover setup for it 
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get new gears for your rear end as far as naturally aspirated trucks go, all the bolt ons dont really give you a lot compared to what you paid. dollars per hp, a blower is still one of the best bargains. the intakes barely do shit, pullies do very little, the cheapo chips can blow up your motor, and the more expensive ones arent necessarily any better unless you get dyno tuned. just trying to save you from the mistakes i made when i had my bro'ed out f150 (i'm formerly 951, riverside) i recommend diff-works in corona, they did my old truck and 3 of my buddies, also a lot of stuff for overhaulin. good folks doin good work fucking flatbiller LMAO!! havent heard that since i moved
I spend a decent bit of time on FSB, pirate, and race dezert.
Got a bronco with a built 351 and I am paitently awaiting the day I can afford a full camburg coilover setup for it bad ass! there are some nice kits out there with sick travel for TTB front ends i had the basic CST on my old truck with fox 2.0's in front and bilstein 5150's in back. my old buddy worked for macmillan racing's old retail shop SKG & they valved everything &t hrew my shocks on. sucks they arent open anymore. so until you get the camburg are you rocking the white fenders?
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Quoted: I probably not going to glass it, just keep standard width. Kinda going for sleeper look and the truck is too nice to really hack up. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: get new gears for your rear end as far as naturally aspirated trucks go, all the bolt ons dont really give you a lot compared to what you paid. dollars per hp, a blower is still one of the best bargains. the intakes barely do shit, pullies do very little, the cheapo chips can blow up your motor, and the more expensive ones arent necessarily any better unless you get dyno tuned. just trying to save you from the mistakes i made when i had my bro'ed out f150 (i'm formerly 951, riverside) i recommend diff-works in corona, they did my old truck and 3 of my buddies, also a lot of stuff for overhaulin. good folks doin good work fucking flatbiller LMAO!! havent heard that since i moved I spend a decent bit of time on FSB, pirate, and race dezert. Got a bronco with a built 351 and I am paitently awaiting the day I can afford a full camburg coilover setup for it bad ass! there are some nice kits out there with sick travel for TTB front ends i had the basic CST on my old truck with fox 2.0's in front and bilstein 5150's in back. my old buddy worked for macmillan racing's old retail shop SKG & they valved everything &t hrew my shocks on. sucks they arent open anymore. so until you get the camburg are you rocking the white fenders? I like surprising some newer trucks with it though |
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get new gears for your rear end as far as naturally aspirated trucks go, all the bolt ons dont really give you a lot compared to what you paid. dollars per hp, a blower is still one of the best bargains. the intakes barely do shit, pullies do very little, the cheapo chips can blow up your motor, and the more expensive ones arent necessarily any better unless you get dyno tuned. just trying to save you from the mistakes i made when i had my bro'ed out f150 (i'm formerly 951, riverside) i recommend diff-works in corona, they did my old truck and 3 of my buddies, also a lot of stuff for overhaulin. good folks doin good work fucking flatbiller
And I concur, not much short of throwing a blower or a motor swap(good luck with that and keeping it legal in cali) at a ranger is going to do too much. Might get some from a gear swap if you have 3.55's or higher, but highway will suffer. ETA: Saw its a 3.0L. Sucks to be you and nothing will help. Eats gas like a 4.0 with less power from almost all accounts How do you know about flatbillers, you're in Texas? Must have lived here. Can't stand those dorks, although, they are entertaining to watch at bars. Check this out: Flatbiller.com I don't think the guy updates it anymore, but it's still pretty damn funny. |
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A cold air intake on a Ford Ranger will probably give a couple more horsepower when the engine is WOT. When you're just driving around town, it'll do nothing except increase the likelihood of sucking water into your engine when you drive through puddles. Keep your tires properly inflated, change your oil regularly, quit hauling around a bunch of dead weight and save your money. Take your Ranger to a performance shop and make the following requests, they're all going to be fairly reasonable in terms of price, and the power you'll gain will be worth it. - Bore the blinker fluid manifold out to 30 over. - Depending on which model flux capacitor you have, perhaps having them "perfornance tune" it? - Swap out your stock muffler bearings for titanium, this will give you a greater thrust to weight ratio. Goodluck and keep us abreast as to how the "upgrades" do in terms of performance. Merry Christmas. |
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get new gears for your rear end as far as naturally aspirated trucks go, all the bolt ons dont really give you a lot compared to what you paid. dollars per hp, a blower is still one of the best bargains. the intakes barely do shit, pullies do very little, the cheapo chips can blow up your motor, and the more expensive ones arent necessarily any better unless you get dyno tuned. just trying to save you from the mistakes i made when i had my bro'ed out f150 (i'm formerly 951, riverside) i recommend diff-works in corona, they did my old truck and 3 of my buddies, also a lot of stuff for overhaulin. good folks doin good work fucking flatbiller
And I concur, not much short of throwing a blower or a motor swap(good luck with that and keeping it legal in cali) at a ranger is going to do too much. Might get some from a gear swap if you have 3.55's or higher, but highway will suffer. ETA: Saw its a 3.0L. Sucks to be you and nothing will help. Eats gas like a 4.0 with less power from almost all accounts How do you know about flatbillers, you're in Texas? Must have lived here. Can't stand those dorks, although, they are entertaining to watch at bars. Check this out: Flatbiller.com I don't think the guy updates it anymore, but it's still pretty damn funny. broheims can migrate to texas, its entirely possible 
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